


Pompeii

by BichetteBlanche (LaPetiteBichette)



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, F/M, Fires of Pompeii, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-10
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-12-23 00:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/919779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaPetiteBichette/pseuds/BichetteBlanche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something is very off about Pompeii and it's not just the very accurate predictions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Part I - Rose and her Doctor**

"Right outside those doors, Rose Tyler," The Doctor said, drawing out her name in that way that makes her smile, "is the beautiful lost city that is Pompeii." She smiled up at him, tongue touching teeth before bolting towards the door and running out into the beautiful ancient city.

"Hope you set an alarm for volcano day, doc," Jack Harkness called out from behind him and leaning against the railing of the TARDIS interrupting him smiling and watching Rose marvel at the city from the open doorway of the TARDIS.  The Doctor turned to him and crossed his arms.

"I think you'll find we're nowhere near that part of Pompeii's history, I wouldn't put he--us in danger like that."  Jack turned and glanced at the monitor, clicking his tongue before pushing himself off the railing to move closer to the monitor, gripping it firmly and turning it around.

"Now maybe I don't completely understand this ship of yours, doc, but this date looks  _very_  familiar to me."  The Doctor's brow furrowed as he walked up the grating and towards the monitor Jack had turned towards him. He read the date on the monitor and swallowed thickly.

"Rose," he called towards the doorway upon seeing the date, which was exactly one day before volcano day. "Rose I seem to have miscalculated slightly," he called as he walked down the grating and towards the door where he could no longer exactly see her.  

He stuck his head outside the TARDIS, bracing his hands on either side of the wall around him.

"Rose?" he asked, glancing frantically around beach he had parked them on, "Rose!" he called again.

"Looks like she's gone exploring, doc," Jack said, pressing some buttons on the console.  The Doctor wiped his hand down his face and sighed in frustration before turning back to the Captain.

"What are you doing?" he asked.  Jack pressed a few buttons on his vortex manipulator before looking The Doctor square in the eye.

"Setting an alarm for Volcano Day," he responded before walking down the grating to the door, "now let's go find Rose."

**Part II - Pond and Raggedy Man**

"What do you mean I'm  _stuck_  in Pompeii?" Amy hissed into her phone.  The Doctor sounded more than just a little distressed and apologetic.

"Not for long Amy, I promise we'll come get you," Rory piped up in the background.

"Yes, yes.  Amelia we will come to you straight away," The Doctor responds, "but the TARDIS can't quite...well....land.  It's like she doesn't...want to.  Something's not quite right down there..." The Doctor finished quite uncomfortably.

"What do you mean the TARDIS can't  _land_?" Amy growls.

"I said can't  _quite_  land, Pond," The Doctor corrected, "that doesn't mean I  _can't_  land her, it simply means it is going to be very difficult for me to land her."

"What am I supposed to do until you can figure out how then?" Amy asks, hands on her hips, sounding extremely irritated.

"You'll think of something!" The Doctor says enthusiastically as he hangs up the phone and Amy nearly screams in frustration as she shoves her mobile back into her pocket.  Then she notices, much to her dismay that a crowd of people have begun to stare.

"What are you lot lookin' at?" Amy asks harshly, giving them her best 'back off' glare.  The people quickly continue what they're doing and start back on their way.  With the exception of one, a woman cloaked in red that she can't quite see watching from afar.

"First thing's first, new clothes," Amy smirks and bounds off down the road of the Bazaar.

**Part III - Spartacus & Spaceman**

Donna glowered at the Spaceman who brought her  _here_  to bloody Pompeii when he meant to take them to Rome.  Imagine her surprise when instead of the seven beautiful hills of Rome, she's greeted with the volcano Vesuvius and a day before the bloody thing is going to erupt.

And now, to add insult to injury, as they tried to return to the TARDIS to escape the inevitable fires of Pompeii, the ship was (of course) missing.  

"How do you lose a bloody spaceship, spaceman," Donna had whispered to him, voice shrill.  He swallowed, trying to remain as calm as possible as he had asked the shopkeeper nearest to where they had parked the TARDIS what exactly had happened.

So here they were, the Spartacus twins (apparently according to Caecilius) trying to get back the TARDIS so they can escape.  Caecilius seems wary of The Doctor, Donna notes, especially when he reaches out and shakes the man's hand.  Donna could very visibly see him tense, but it didn't make the man any less kind to them, other than the quip about them looking alike.

"You know," Donna begins, cutting off whatever The Doctor was about to say, "you lot should really take a vacation somewhere with no volcanoes," she suggests.  The Doctor clenches his jaw and sends a sideways glance at her. She ignores him and continues talking, bringing up volcanoes half a dozen times as he continues to stare at her, practically seething.

"Donna," he whispers, harshly, pulling her to the side once she's finally done with her long-winded schpeel about vacations and volcanoes, "they don't know that word yet.  People don't really have a word for volcanoes until, well, tomorrow."  Donna gapes at him before shutting her mouth with an audible click crossing her arms.

**Part IV - The Fucking TARDIS**

He's walking through the Bazaar when he sees her parked behind a shady merchant.  He frowns slightly, almost ninety percent certain he parked her much closer to the house he was currently residing in with his three companions.  

"Did you move yourself?" he asks the ship, stroking her exterior fondly before moving his hand to touch the handle on the door.

"Hey!" The merchant shouts, "don't touch the goods if you ain't looking to buy." He purses his lips and very nearly laughs, ignoring the merchant as he pulls out his TARDIS key and tries to unlock the door.  It doesn't budge.

"Bugger," he mutters under his breath, jimmying his key in the lock a few more times she still doesn't budge.  He narrows his eyes.

"Odd..." he says, stepping back and trying something he hasn't done since his last incarnation.  He snaps his fingers. Nothing.

"Are you gonna buy that thing or not?" the merchant asks, irritated.  He frowns and purses his lips.

"Alright, mate," he says, turning toward the merchant before asking, "how much?" because he can't very well leave his TARDIS there, no matter how bloody stubborn she's being.

**Part V - Jack and Doc**

"How many times have I told her  _not to wander off_?" The Doctor asks Jack angrily, searching around for Rose on the streets of Pompeii.  

"Does she ever listen?" Jack asks with a laugh.  The Doctor shoots him a glare and Jack raises his hands in surrender. 

"Rose!" he calls out into the crowd of people, pushing through the swarm to get to the thick of it.  Maybe he would find her there.

"Rooose," Jack calls from behind him, cupping his hands over his mouth to amplify the sound.  The Doctor sighs as he bumps into several people who give him dirty looks as he tries to look for his companion.

"Doctor?" he hears someone ask near him and he turns quickly towards the sound, but it isn't wasn't what he was expecting in the least.  Instead of Rose, he sees a woman with a white painted face and a red cloak talking into a mobile phone. 

He turns around and shoots a glance at Jack.  That wasn't Rose.  That was another time traveler.  Which meant that...he swallowed hard.

"Jack," The Doctor said, voice shaking slightly.  The captain nodded his understanding and called out for Rose again, a sense of urgency coming over both of them.

**Part VI - Rose**

She found the TARDIS parked near a merchant's stall and she smiled softly.  She  _had_ wandered off like he always told her not to, but she couldn't help it.  There was always an adventure to be had, especially in a long dead civilization.  

"Oh, Doctor," she smiled, reaching out and touching the door to the TARDIS for a moment before digging in her shirt to pull out the key and stuck it into the lock.

At first, the key seemed to stick and Rose's forehead crinkled in confusion.  Her TARDIS key never stuck, it was special.  She turned harder, feeling the key finally cave and the TARDIS finally unlocking.

"Doctor?" she asked, sticking her head inside the TARDIS before entering slowly when she didn't see anyone waiting in the console room.

"Jack?" she asked and the the TARDIS's lights flickered in a warning.  Rose stopped next to the console and bit her bottom lip.  Something felt very distinctly wrong about her being here.

However, just as she was about to head for the door, she heard someone else jimmying the lock and froze.  The TARDIS's lights flickered again, this time with urgency and Rose felt fear rising up in her throat.  Then, not even a few moments later she was distinctly aware that the TARDIS was being moved.

**Part VII - The Sisterhood**

The Doctor said she would think of something and he was right.  Almost immediately she became a part of some kind of sisterhood of women who could tell the future.  Something wasn't quite right about these women and she was determined to find out what it was.

Thus, being a time traveller with a super phone and also quite clever, she started making very accurate predictions.  Though, most of her predictions she definitely had to ensure happened on her own, she did attract their attention.

However, she wasn't quite prepared for the extent this "undercover" position would change her.  She very nearly lost sight of who she was due to the heavy consumption of the vapors that helped The Sisterhood to see and make accurate predictions.  That was until she saw the familiar blue box in the bazaar (and after she reported it to the sisterhood as part of a prophecy because hey, it's written and she read it so it had to happen, right?). 

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" she asked reaching out to touch the exterior of the time ship fondly.  However, before her fingers could barely graze the ship, the door flung open and she heard two people conversing about Rome.  

"What?" she asked in a harsh whisper, flattening herself against the back of the box as she tried to make out what they were saying.  However, it was to no avail.  The only things she could make out was that it was The Doctor and a woman called Donna.  What the hell was going on here?

After she could no longer hear their footsteps, she decided to make a run for it and call her Doctor to figure out exactly what was happening in Pompeii.  Because now it seemed like so much more than just the TARDIS acting up and the strange vapor that was making her ill and her skin turn to stone.  She  _really_  hoped The Doctor could fix that.

**Part VIII - Stuck in the Wrong TARDIS**

Rose sat on the floor and chewed her lip.  She reached into her pocket and tried to pull out her mobile to call Jack and The Doctor to come figure out what was going on, but she found that it was missing.

"Blimey," she whimpered, clutching her knees to her chest.  Well, it wouldn't take long for him to figure out the TARDIS had been stolen anyways and he would find her, wouldn't he? He always did.

She didn't know how long they had been moving, but she was so grateful when it stopped.  She got up quickly and ran to the door to pull it open, but found that it wouldn't budge.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked the TARDIS, pulling harder on the door and even trying to push a few times.  

"Oh my god I'm stuck," she pounded on the door wildly, but it was no use.  No one would come, she wasn't even sure anyone could hear her.  She sighed and swallowed, pressing her back to the door and sliding down slowly. 

She never thought she'd ever be stuck in the TARDIS alone without at least The Doctor.  And she especially never expected to feel so afraid and unwelcome in a place she had begun to consider her second home.

**Part IX - Bad Wolf**

"Doctor, she is returning," his companion said, her mother (who ended up tagging along very much against his will, mind you) holding the poor girl up.  He never wanted her to get caught up in this Sisterhood thing but he needed to know what was going on.  And of course she had taken it upon herself to help him solve the mystery.  

However, he didn't remember that his younger self and Donna had been here too.  Why couldn't he remember that he and Donna had come here?  The only thing he remembered about Pompeii and volcanoes was something Jack had said years and years ago now.

Wait did she just say "she is returning"? He snaps his head back to his companion who is now looking quite a bit worse for wear.  He thinks he knows who she means.  He knows he sees her again, right before he regenerates into his previous form.  And if he's travelling with Donna now he knows that it shouldn't be too far off in his younger self's future.

Why didn't he remember her telling his younger self this?  Then, as if to answer his question, the doors to his younger self's TARDIS rattled from the inside.  

Both Doctors and Donna turned to look at the blue box wide eyed.  The door rattled again and then someone pounded on it repeatedly before a familiar voice uttered several unsavory words.  Okay, he  _definitely_  didn't remember this happening.

His younger self turned to him, brown eyes wide in disbelief and he stared back.  He tried his best to compose himself and act like he didn't know what was going on.  But a second later when she emerged all pink and yellow screaming curses at the TARDIS he couldn't help himself.

"Rose?" He breathed out at the exact same time his other self did and then they looked back at each other, realization flashing in his younger self's eyes. Rose blinked a few times, shutting the door to the TARDIS behind her.

"Who are you then?" She asked. He swallowed thickly, eyes still locked with his younger self.  Donna blinked at the blonde girl a few times and cleared her throat.

"You look really young," she remarked and Rose stared at her.

"Am I missing something?" she asked, hands bunching up the bottom of her hoodie nervously, "how does everyone know me?"

"Who did you come here with?" He asked suddenly, turning back to the pink and yellow human and away from his younger self.  She stared at him in disbelief for a moment.

"No," she said, all sass as she crosses her arms, "you don't get to ask questions.  Who the hell are you?"

"Rose Tyler," his younger self admonished playfully, his tongue peeking out between his teeth in the way she always did, "such colorful language."

He heard her breath catching in her throat as she stared at the younger man.  Then she turned and looked at Donna and back to him.

"Oh my god," she said before turning and taking off out of the house and back onto the street.

**Part X - DOCTOR!**

"Doctor!" She screamed until her voice was hoarse, tears stinging in her eyes from frustration.  Oh god what if he couldn't find her.  She couldn't cope with the weirdness that was happening right now.  She wasn't even sure what happened back there in that house, but she was terrified.

"Doctor!" she screamed once more, tasting blood in her throat from the exertion.  If only her mum were here then maybe she'd have a better chance of getting his attention.  Her mum could probably be heard across the whole of Pompeii.

"Rose?" She heard someone ask from behind her and she whirled around to see the brown haired man from the house.  

"Who are you?" She asked, backing up as he came towards her.

"Doctor!" She screamed behind her into the darkness as the unfamiliar man continued to advance on her.

"Spaceman!" The red head called from behind him, running up and grabbing onto his arm forcefully.  He stopped advancing on her then and just stared at her, eyes full of sadness and something else.  Something that frightened her much more than the weight of sorrow in his eyes.  He was gazing at her with  _love_.

"Doctor?" She whispered then, taking a few tentative steps towards the stranger and his red headed companion.  It was then that she noticed his clothing.  Who else could wear a completely out of place suit with chucks and belong so completely to the landscape?

"Rose," he whispered with a soft sad smile.

"What happened?" She asked, visibly frightened as she looked him over, "Why are you different? Are you a clone?...how do you know me!"  Donna looked at him, startled.

"Changed, Doctor?" she asked curiously, but he ignored her.

"Rose..." he said carefully, "we need to find The Doctor and get you out of this time before it's way too late."

"What?" She asked, mind spinning in circles.  She was so confused.  

"I thought you were The Doctor," she whispered, backing away again.

"Rose," he said, voice tinged with warning as she was just about to start running again.  She stopped and stared at him.

"Where's the TARDIS?" he asked and she narrowed her eyes.

"If you're The Doctor, shouldn't you know?" She growled at him before turning on her heel and taking off into the darkness.

**Part XI - Volcano Day**

"Amy, come in Amy," The Doctor shouted into the telephone and Amy held it away from her ear and glared at it.

"Doctor I can bloody hear you," she hissed into the receiver, "I called you, remember?" 

"Ah, yes," he said and she could practically hear his brow crinkling, "why is that?"

"Any chance you can land the TARDIS right now and rescue me from another month of slumming it in Pompeii?" She asked hopefully and he was silent.  She sighed and pursed her lips.

"Thought so," she continued, "but that's not exactly why I called, Doctor."  He was still silent so she kept going, "you see, there seems to be another TARDIS here and I was thinking that maybe that's why you couldn't em...quite land."

"What?" He asked, confusion evident in his tone, "another TARDIS? Nonsense, this old girl would never take us somewhere that I've been in the past or the future.  She takes careful consideration to make certain time lines never cross.  My other self being there is impossible." Amy clicked her tongue.

"Yeah, yeah Doctor," Amy growled into the phone, "you always say that and in the end you're always wrong and the impossible does happen and you eat your stupid words.  I mean if not you then how else would there be another blue police box in  _Pompeii_?"

_to be continued_


	2. Chapter Two

**Part XII - Twelve**

He wasn't quite sure how Rose Tyler ended up in this previous self's TARDIS. He knew for fact what happened between them and what happened to Donna and obviously Rose looked way too young to have been in the time line where he had seen her again after Bad Wolf Bay. So, of course, he needed answers.

How could Rose possibly have been in Pompeii if not with his younger self and Donna? And how could she not even recognize his younger self? That was the most intriguing part of this. Because he knew how he was in his pin striped form and he would have never brought Donna to a place where another of his incarnations would have been. He swore he'd never do that again since Rose tried to bring about the end of the world in the late '80s.

Of course he had later on when he had gone quite mad in his most recent form. Which led to quite a few interesting occurrences. The most interesting of which had been with River Song. He sighed at that thought. River Song had been a brilliant woman and she always knew what would happen next. He had been so lost without her for so many years after her death. He had been lost without Rose too.

He followed them from a distance, keeping to the shadows and watching as his younger self and Donna tried to talk to Rose. Of course, he had royally cocked that up and sent Rose running off into the middle of the night  _again_ , but they had to fix this somehow didn't they? After all, he was still here and he could still remember Rose standing on that beach looking beautiful and his hearts aching when she kissed his clone.

That was one of the hardest things he had done. Giving Rose Tyler up to, well, himself on that beach so long ago. But without a doubt in his mind he knew even now she was happy. Or at least she would be as soon as he figured out how to get her out of Pompeii before they all died.

**Part XIII - The Beach**

Rose searched frantically for where The Doctor had parked his TARDIS earlier that day, but it was so dark she couldn't see anything. She searched the pockets of her jacket to try and find a torch but to no avail. When it got too dark to see her hands in front of her face she turned around.

By now she knew her Doctor would be searching for her in the city and would undoubtedly be angry she had been gone so long. Especially considering the tremors from the volcano she had been feeling throughout the day.

The people of Pompeii were terrified in those few moments but seemed oblivious to the tremors afterword. As if someone had been reassuring them nothing bad would come of it. She knew it would only get worse. Until the people of Pompeii all died. Unable to be saved, even for The Doctor.

"Doctor?" she called out in the semi-lit streets of the bazaar. A few people stared at her. It was getting late and she knew she would have to find somewhere to stay soon if she wanted to get some rest. And since she couldn't find her Doctor's TARDIS the only other place she could think to stay was where she had met Donna and…she swallowed hard at the thought…The Doctor.

She couldn't remember the way back to the house she had escaped the wrong TARDIS at, much to her dismay. So she wandered around for awhile, calling out to The Doctor (hoping at least one of them would show up) until her voice was hoarse and she was very nearly at the end of her rope.

She sobbed softly and sank to the ground next to an unfamiliar house behind some wooden crates. That's when she heard it. People screaming, running through the streets and loud trembling footsteps. It sounded like a giant. Was volcano day happening already?

She stood to her feet quickly as the footsteps grew closer. She could barely make out the voices as she came from behind the crates to see what the commotion was. She didn't even have time to process the situation when someone grabbed her hand, lacing fingers with hers and whispered loudly, " _Run_ ".

And she did.

**Part XIV - "Run"**

He remembered doing this with her once before. Not quite with the same hand, but at least on the very same side of him. He lost that hand after his regeneration fighting the sycorax. It had been his favorite hand then, but this hand was becoming a very favorite of his now.

She held onto him tightly but didn't even glance at him once. She kept her eyes trained forward so she wouldn't trip and fall over the various obstacles in their way. He hoped that in every regeneration he had her hand would still fit perfectly in his.

The "monster" behind them, which was actually an "alien" called a Pyrovile was gaining on them. He heard Donna shout next to him, threatening to murder him in cold blood once they were finally safe again. He smiled, glancing over at her and then back at his Rose. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy.

Rose was smiling and laughing in-between breaths as they ran, the creature still gaining. He had almost forgotten how much she loved the dangerous bits of being with him. He felt his hearts warm and he smiled widely as they rounded the corner, creature crashing behind them.

"Get down!" He heard Quintus shout, throwing a bucket of water over their heads and onto the creature. It screamed and fell to the ground with a loud thump.

"Guess you can kill me then, Donna," The Doctor said with a laugh, turning to his red headed companion only to realize she wasn't there.

"Donna?" He asked, searching around frantically and tugging Rose along with him, not willing to let go of his pink and yellow human.

How long had she been missing?

**Part XV – He Loves a Red Head, Our Doctor**

"What the–" The red headed companion, Donna practically shrieked when Amy forced her into the "lair" of The Sisterhood. Amy bit her lip and stared at Donna. This was another one of his companions, another  _red headed_  companion. She wasn't really sure how she felt about this. The Doctor didn't talk about his past very much, but she found herself more than just a little jealous. And when was he going to tell her that his last self was so bloody  _hot_? Especially for an older man. Well, not that much older than she was now…or he didn't look that much older anyhow. She smirked to herself and licked her lips.

"Who the heck are you lot?" the red head asked, hands on her hips, bringing Amy's attention away from the extremely attractive Doctor and back to reality, "If you think you can just kidnap me and not explain what the bloody hell is going on…" she continued, voice rising with every word. Amy sucked in a breath and grabbed her by the arm before anyone else could react and hauled her away from the watchful eyes of her sisters.

"Play along, okay?" Amy whispered harshly, trying to remain in character as much as possible, "I know about The Doctor." Donna pulled away from her quickly and rolled her eyes.

"Of course you lot do," she said, "I saw what your new seer did in that house, predicting the return of Rose. Givin' him hope, then things go all pear shaped."

"Rose?" Amy whispered, trying desperately to keep her voice down. Donna met her eyes and pursed her lips, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Rose," she responded in a sassy tone, "you seers should already know about her, though. If any of you lot are worth anythin'." Amy swallowed, and glanced at the other women in The Sisterhood. The rest of them seemed to understand, but she stood there, uncertain. She didn't want them finding out she didn't exactly belong, but this Donna was seriously getting close to blowing her cover. She needed to ask The Doctor about her and soon because she was not about to inhale those vapors and turn any more of herself into stone.

**Part XVI – Rose Water**

"Amy?" Rory answered before unceremoniously being flung to the ground of the TARDIS as The Doctor fiddled with something on the console. He let out a noise somewhere between a yelp and a frustrated yell as The Doctor shouted his apologies in the background.

"I need to talk to The Doctor," Amy hissed immediately, voice barely above a whisper. Rory sighed.

"What no, 'how are you doing Rory?' or 'I miss you' or–" Amy growled.

"It's an emergency, but I love you stupid face, now let me talk to The Doctor!" Rory smirked a little at the phone then before shouting to The Doctor that Amy was on the phone.

"Busy!" He shouted back, rushing around the console and checking the monitor.

"Amy says  _NOW_  ," Rory said, using his best intimidation voice and tapping his foot impatiently. The Doctor glanced up from the console almost immediately and flipped a few levers before grabbing the phone from Rory.

"Hello, Pond," The Doctor said brightly. Rory could hear slightly louder whisper-yelling coming from the phone as his wife admonished The Doctor for trying to put her off. He smirked and so did The Doctor as Amy very nearly tore him a new one.

Amy got quiet again, and Rory couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but he watched curiously. The Doctor's smirk faded, his eyes got glassy and his face paled. Rory had only seen him like that a handful of times and he could feel his heart rate speed up. Amy was in trouble, he knew it. Amy was in trouble and they couldn't even land the TARDIS to help her.

When The Doctor finally spoke again, after a long moment of tortured silence, Rory was sweating.

"Rose…" He whispered, moving his mouth as if it couldn't quite fit around the word. Rory raised his eyebrows, of all the things he expected The Doctor to say, he wasn't quite expecting that.

"Sh-she was…" He watched The Doctor swallow hard and heard Amy demand he speak quicker from the receiver. He swallowed again, moving the phone to his other ear and trying very hard not to meet Rory's gaze.

"Rose was…a friend…she was like you and Rory she uh, she traveled with me a long time ago." The Doctor paused as Amy asked something else.

"Donna…" he said softly, eyes glassy, "she traveled with me too." Amy demanded he tell her why Rose was so important. He turned his back to Rory then, voice soft as he answered.

"She's Rose," he responded sounding almost heartbroken, "my Rose."

**Part XVII - I Wont Leave Her**

"I don't mean to alarm you, Doc," Jack began, walking close behind him on the beach away from where they had parked the TARDIS, "but we're running out of time, that volcano is going to blow tomorrow morning and there's nothing we can do to stop it. We have mere hours to find Rose, figure out what's wrong with the TARDIS and get out of here."

"You don't think I know that?" He asked grumpily, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, "The TARDIS wont budge and I can't find Rose without her. We all might very well die here." He turned and locked eyes with Jack in the darkness then.

"I know," Jack said, acceptance in his tone.

"Good," The Doctor replied solemnly, "because I wont leave her." Jack smiled sadly at his statement and nodded even though The Doctor had already turned away from him.

"I wont either, Doc," Jack whispered.

**Part XVIII - Water Pistol**

"Nobody here but us girls," The Doctor said, looking pointedly at her and Donna to let her know now was the time to escape while he was distracting them. She watched him for a few more moments, not quite sure what happened to make him change, but knowing now wasn't the time to question it. She grabbed Donna's wrist then and tried to sneak out of the room, but one of the sisterhood caught her other hand.

She tried to yank it away, turning over her shoulder, ready to fight the woman off. But when she turned, the look on the woman's face stopped her. She swallowed, letting go of Donna and staring at the woman's sad expression.

"Rose Tyler," she whispered softly before letting her eyes flick up to a very annoyed look on Donna's face. The Doctor was still talking to the sisterhood, keeping their attention while she and Donna stood still, uncertain of what to do now they had been found out.

"Don't you want to know how I know your name?" the woman whispered, same sad look on her face. She shook her head and let out a quiet breathy laugh.

"I've seen what you lot can do, thanks," Rose said, finally freeing her hand from the woman's tight grasp. This time the woman laughed softly.

"No," She said, peeling back her shawl and showing them that she barely turned to stone, "I don't have-" she made air quotes and Donna and Rose exchanged confused glances-"the sight."

"Then how are you here?" She asked, gesturing at the sisterhood, "with them?" The woman sighed and shook her head, glancing back over at where things had begun to go a little pear shaped for The Doctor. The sisterhood was getting tired of his antics and it looked like something bad was about to happen.

"Later," The woman said, fitting herself between Donna and Rose, "now we run." She grabbed both their hands and they ran out of the room, sparing one last glance back at The Doctor, who defeated that creepy priestess with a water pistol.

She and Donna both laughed in awe, eyes meeting as they exclaimed, "I bloody love him!"

**Part XIX - Nine**

"Okay," Rose said breathlessly when they stopped running just outside of the city where it met the beach, "tell us who you are." Amy stared at the two women, lowering her hood and opening her mouth to speak just as the ground rumbled beneath them. The three women flailed a bit, nearly losing their balance.

When the tremor had passed, Amy opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by another voice with a heavy Northern accent.

"Rose?" The voice asked, almost shocked. Rose turned towards the voice, breaking out into a huge grin, her tongue stuck between her teeth. Amy and Donna turned, narrowing their eyes at a man dressed in a letter jacket over a jumper followed closely by a very attractive looking man in a trench coat.

"Oh, Rose," the man said, moving faster toward their group, arms stretched towards her. Donna spoke first.

"Oi!" She said loudly, effectively stopping the man in his tracks, "and just who do you think you are?" She stepped in front of Rose protectively and ignored her noise of protest. Amy smirked.

"Who are you?" The man answered back, so much sass in his tone Amy couldn't stop her smirk from growing wider.

"I asked you first big ears," Donna retorted, hands on his hips. The man behind him sniggered, earning a glare from the man in leather.

"Oh, big ears," the man said sarcastically, gesturing wildly around him, "Haven't heard that one before, your wit astounds me." Donna snorted.

"Tell me," Donna said, gesturing to the man's ears, "can you fly with those things?" This time Rose giggled from behind Donna, trying hard to muffle the sound.

The man opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the man behind him in the trench coat.

"As much as I'm enjoying this," he said, stepping forward and taking Donna's hand, "We don't have time for a sass off," he brought Donna's knuckles to his lips, "Jack Harkness," he said smoothly with a handsome grin.

"Oh stop it," the other man said, exasperated. Donna grinned at him, ignoring the other man's annoyed glare.

"Donna Noble," she responded.

"That is a very lovely name, Donna Noble," Jack said, wrinkling his nose a bit and staring down at her wrist before releasing her hand, "A bit out of the ordinary for Pompeii..." he trailed off, staring at her other arm as if he was looking for something.

"Doctor..." He said, voice tinged with worry. Amy glanced around then, looking for the man who she saw moments ago with the water pistol, but he wasn't there.

"I know, Jack," the man in leather responded, gazing at Donna with a neutral expression on his face. Amy's eyes widened in realization just as her cell phone buzzed loudly against her hip.

_to be continued_


	3. Chapter 3

**Part XX - Vibrations**

Everyone was still for a moment, not even daring to breathe as they heard the familiar noise of a cell phone buzzing loudly. Rose bit her lip and stared at Donna, waiting for her to answer and wondering just how much she should tell her Doctor about what's been going on around Pompeii. She didn't want to risk the reapers coming back again. Not like they did when she rescued her father.

Then, even Donna looked confused when the mobile kept buzzing without anyone answering it. She looked at Jack and then at her Doctor. They were both staring at Donna, but she put her hands on her hips and glared at them.

"Oi, someone gonna answer that?" She asked, just as the mobile stopped buzzing. The Doctor and Jack exchanged glances before staring beyond Donna at Rose, questioningly.

"Jackie?" The Doctor asked suddenly. She shook her head and shrugged.

"Wasn't me," she answered in a matter-of-fact tone. The group exchanged glances just as the buzzing started up again, coming from the direction of their new friend from The Sisterhood. She groaned, finally grabbing the phone from her waist and answering it in a very modern, Scottish accent.

"This better be important," she hissed angrily into the phone, turning slightly away from the group to continue her conversation with some semblance of privacy.

"So," The Doctor said, turning back to Rose, "who're your friends?" She bit her lip and with a sigh hoped this wouldn't bring more reapers.

"Doctor, this is Donna, your future companion." The Doctor blinked and arched his eyebrow with a frown.

"What do you mean "future companion", Rose?" He asked.

"Maybe I can explain," The Doctor in the pinstriped suit began, emerging from the shadows. The Doctor in leather gazed at him in surprise.

"But--" He began, shocked to see himself here.

"This is supposed to be impossible," The pinstriped Doctor finished, "Yeah, I know. But I've long since stopped referring to things as "impossible" there is so much we have left to learn."

"How did I not know?" The Doctor in leather asked, brow furrowed.

"I'm not sure," The Doctor in pin stripes answered him, "we don't know the answer to everything." He put his hands in the pockets of his trench coat and rocked on his heels, uncomfortably. 

**Part XXI - Doomsday**

The ground shook beneath them once more and The Doctor in pin stripes stared off at Mount Vesuvius just as Amy hung up her mobile phone, huffing angrily and bringing attention back to herself.

"This one of yours then?" The Doctor in leather asked, nodding towards her. The Doctor in pinstripes turned and arched an eyebrow.

"No, she's part of The Sisterhood." Amy hid her mobile in her robes quickly, trying her hardest to look innocent, but they had already seen her pull it out and talk on it.

"Guess I owe you an explanation..." Amy began, as the familiar sound of the TARDIS materializing filled her ears. She broke out into a grin, turning around just as another blue police box finally managed to materialize in Pompeii. 

"Orrrr not," Amy said, smiling wider as the door creaked open and The Doctor and Rory tumbled out.

"Amy," Her Doctor began, taking her in, "you look...odd," he continued, wincing a little as if her appearance offended him. The Doctor in pin stripes and The Doctor in leather exchanged horrified glanced that were not lost on Amy.

"Well," she said, hurrying towards the TARDIS, "would love to tell you all about what I went through, but we've gotta get into the TARDIS right now or--"

"Rose?" Her Doctor asked suddenly. Amy's shoulders slumped.

"That," Amy finished, defeated as she turned around to see the blonde peeking out from behind Donna. Rory looked over at her questioningly and she shrugged, standing in the doorway of the TARDIS wondering just how insanely strange this must be for the blonde. 

"Doctor?" Rose asked, pushing her way from behind Donna and towards the new Doctor. The Doctor in leather made a noise to stop her, but she continued on, stopping just short of touching him.

"How is this possible?" Rose asked, suddenly, turning to stare at all the other Doctors gathered around her, "and where am I? Where am I if you're travelling with Donna and then these two? I'm never gonna leave you." The three Doctors exchanged nervous glances.

"You know I can't say, Rose," The Doctor in pinstripes responded after a few heavy moments.

"But you're safe," Amy's Doctor responded, "and happy." The other two Doctors looked at him questioningly, but he did not meet their gaze. This was a delicate topic even now in his time stream, when he hadn't seen her in over 150 years. Rose smiled sadly at him, reaching out and placing her hands over his hearts.

**Part XXII - Run For Your Life**

The ground trembled again, so violently it knocked a few of them off balance.

"Doc, as much as this situation warms my heart, we're running out of time to get out of here before volcano day. We only have a few more hours." The Doctor in leather turned and gazed at him, the look in his eyes was almost unreadable. 

"Donna," The Doctor in pinstripes said suddenly, turning to his companion before looking out at the rest of the people who surrounded him in turn.

"You two have to do this on your own," The Doctor with a bowtie responded sadly, staring down at Rose, who still had her hands pressed to his hearts. Her expression was sad, but it also held acceptance and love. 

The Doctor in pinstripes swallowed the lump in his throat and took Donna's hand for support. She stared at him with a sad look in her eyes, but allowed him to begin to lead her away. 

However, when Rose heard them begin to walk off, she turned from The Doctor with the bow tie and rushed towards the pinstriped Doctor. 

"Wait," she said, running to him and throwing herself into his arms. He caught her easily, his body molding to hers perfectly. Even after all this time, she still fit so completely into his arms and in his hearts. He breathed in her scent and held her tightly for a long time, until she struggled in his arms.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear, so quietly he could hardly hear it and then kissed his cheek before backing away. He just stared at her, not sure how to respond to what she just said, but not because he didn't love her too. No, he just didn't think it was right for him to say it, not while her current Doctor was standing right over there.

"And I love you," Rose continued, turning towards The Doctor with the bow tie who stared at her, almost in disbelief.

"Rose Tyler," The Doctor with the bowtie responded suddenly with a soft, almost saddened, grin. 

"And I love you," she whispered towards the darkness, watching as another man with grey hair and a haggard expression emerged. He smiled softly.

"And I love you, Rose Tyler," he responded, not willing to wait to say it anymore. She needed to know right then how he felt about her. He watched as Amy and Rory exchanged worried glances. The Doctor in leather looked angry for a moment, but also scared and they all knew why.

"Good-bye Rose," The Doctor in pinstripes said suddenly, grabbing Donna's hand once more and retreating into the darkness. The Doctor with the bow tie, echoed his statement sadly, eyes teary as he turned his back and followed Amy and Rory into his TARDIS.

Rose isn't sure how to feel for a few moments as she watches her Doctor's all begin to leave one by one. She knows, in the end, she'll still be with him, but it still hurts to watch the others move on, continuing without her. Regardless of how safe or happy she is, it hurts her to know that in the future, he isn't happy without her.

The grey-haired Doctor lingers for a long moment, reaching out and ghosting his fingertips on the underside of Rose's arm, making her shiver. She turns away from where The Doctor with the bowtie's TARDIS is dematerializing and stares up at him.

They stay like that for a long time, just staring at each other in silence until her Doctor in leather clears his throat awkwardly. Rose snaps her head towards him and smiles brilliantly.

"Good-bye, Rose Tyler," the grey haired Doctor whispers in her ear, kissing her temple softly before retreating in the direction the pinstriped Doctor and Donna had gone in. Jack, who had remained largely silent during this heartbreaking exchange, took that moment to make the longest, loudest, most annoying "Awwww" noise Rose had ever heard.

"Jack," The Doctor warned and Rose just grinned.

"And I love you, Doctor," Rose said softly, making her way over to where The Doctor and Jack stood. Her Doctor stared at her, a small smile on his lips as he took her into his arms.

"I love you," he said, so quietly into her hair Rose almost confused it as a breath. She smiled into his chest.

**Part XXIII - The next Adventure**

He had rescued Caecilius and his family as Donna had requested and they all stood on a cliff overlooking the city of Pompeii as it burned. Donna kept staring at him oddly, pursing her lips and furrowing her brow as if she was waiting for him to say something. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Donna asked suddenly as they made their way back to the TARDIS.

"About what?" He asked, unlocking the door. Donna looked at him a bit funny and then shrugged, pushing past him and into the TARDIS onto the next adventure.

**Part XXIV - The Game Station**

He couldn't remember how he got here or anything at all from the past few days, it was as if his mind had been completely wiped of all recent events. And now, here he was in a house with Lynda with a y, on some sort of strange reality television show, separated from Rose and Jack who probably couldn't remember anything either.

**Part XXV - The end**

"Doctor?" Amy asked, staring at him for a long moment, watching him dance around the console like a madman.

"Yes?" He asked, a manic grin on his face, almost as if he had forgotten the events of the last few days in Pompeii. Like time had been rewritten.

"Nothing," she whispered, mind suddenly hazy as to what she had wanted him to remember. 

In the far corner of the TARDIS, just out of their line of sight, a small crack in the wall glowed.


End file.
